Projectile.



No. 875,952. PATENTED JAN. 7, 1903.

c. ROOKHILL'.

PROJBGTILE.

APPIQIOATION FILED HA3. 1. 1907.

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\ UNITE CLAYTON ROOKHILL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PROJE CTILE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. '7, 1908.

Application filed March 1, 1907. Serial No. 360,069.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLAYTON RooKHILL, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the borough of Manhattan, in the city and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Projectiles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to projectiles with the object in View of providing a projectile which will not be liable to crack, shatter or upset when striking an object and hence a projectile which will have an increased penetration under a given velocity.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal central section through a solid projectile, Fig. 2 is a similar view through a hollow projectile or shell, and Fig. 3 is a partial section showing a modification.

The head of the projectile is denoted by 1 and is brought to a point in any well known or approved manner, the quality of the steel or other metal which composes the head being of such a nature as to maintain as far as possible its integrity under impact. The body of the projectile back from the head is composed of a core 2 which may conveniently be formed integral with the head, a heel 3 which may also be conveniently formed integral with the core and a body of wire 4 wound on the core intermediate of the head and heel portions. This body of wire may be protected by a thin shell 5, which shell may either be of soft metal suitable for taking the grooves of the rifiing in the gun, or additional bands for such purpose may be applied to the body of the projectile in any well known or approved manner.

The gist of my invention lies in making the body of the projectile or a considerable portion thereof, of wire wound under tension in order to prevent the body of the shell from cracking or upsetting under impact. This wire is wound in successive layers beginning with a layer on the smallest portion of the core, the core being preferably provided with annular steps 6, the number of such steps being a matter of choice, and each step in creasing in diameter from the smallest portion of the core toward the head portion 1, and the steps being made of such depth as to correspondto the thickness of one layer of wire or the combined thicknesses of several layers of wire so that one or more layers of wire will just bring the diameter of a lower step or smaller step up even with the diameter of a succeeding or larger step, thereby permitting the first layer of wire on the larger step to be wound continuously over it and over the one or more layers of wire on the lower step. The wire used is preferably a square wire of high elastic limit and the several successive steps from the head to the smallest portion of the core are preferably made slightly tapered toward the heel with a view of producing a wedging action when the .head of the shell strikes an opposing object.

When the treads of these several steps are made tapering as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the surrounding shell 5 may be made slightly tapered on its interior face and may be forced I ure, but preferably being made to correspond in depth to the thickness of one layer of wire or to the combined thicknesses of two or more layers.

The structure shown in Fig. 2 is quite the same in principle as that shown in Fig. 1, the difference being that the core represented by 8 is left of a larger size and provided with an interior bore 9 for receiving an exploding charge, the rear end of the bore being provided with a plug 10 for closing it. It is to be understood that any well known or approved means are to be employed for the purpose of exploding the charge within the shell, the same forming no part of my present invention.

In the form shown in Fig. 8, the core portion represented by 11, has the steps thereon arranged with their treads cylindrical instead of tapered as in Figs. 1 and 2.

In use, as the projectile strikes the object which it is intended to pierce, the body of wire thereon will tend to condense, each transverse coil of wire crowding slightly against its neighbor immediately in advance of it and this will produce a slight resiliency in the body of the projectile sufficient to prevent it from shattering or upsetting but maintaining the momentum of this compact body and producing an increased penetra tion.

In winding the wire the successive transverse layers may be crowded against a preceding layer with all the force feasible and yet there will be a slight amount of movement or resiliency under the crowding effect of this layer at the moment of impact and this slight movement of the layers one against another in crowding may be accurately resisted by the taper of the steps at the rear of the head, these several steps being driven into the body of wire at the moment of impact or rather the body of Wire under its momentum being driven over the steps andincreasing its frictional grip thereon be cause of their tapered construction. Furthermore, even though the thin shell or protecting. jacket be stripped from the projectile, its body of wire will tenaoiously maintain' its integrity and so increase the piercing action of the projectile.

What I claim is:

1. A projectile having a portion of its body formed of a compact mass of wire coils.

2. A projectile comprising a head, a body and a acket or outer shell, a portion of the body at the rear of the head of the projectile and Within the jacket or outer shell being formed of wire.

3, A projectile comprising a head and body, the body consisting of a core and a mass of wire around the core in position to bear against the rear of the head.

4. A projectile provided with a core extending rearwardly from its head and of lesser diameter than the head and a body of wire wound on said core to form the body of the projectile.

5. A projectile provided with a ste ped core projecting rearwardly from its hea and of lesser diameter than its head and a body of wire wound on said stepped core.

6. A projectile provided with a core projecting rearwardly from the head and of lesser diameter than the head, the said core being provided with tapered steps and a body of wire wound on said core.

7. A projectile provided with a head and heel portion connected by a core of lesser diameter than the head and heel and a body of wire wound on the core intermediate of the head and heel.

8. A projectile provided with a head" and heel, a core connecting the head andheel, steps leading from the smallest portion of the core to the head and from the smallest portion of the core to the periphery of the heel and a body of wire wound on said core and steps.

9. A projectile provided with a head, a

core of reduced diameter extending from the head, a body of wire wound on the core and a protecting shell or jacket exterior to the body of wire.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name in presence of two witnesses, this 21st day of F ebruary 1907.

CLAYTON ROCKHILL.

Witnesses:

F. GEORGE BARRY, HENRY THIEME. 

